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#MakeupMonday: You Need Light!

Last week I went into a friend’s bathroom and had the sudden sickening realization that all this time I’ve been doing my makeup in the dark. I *thought* I had adequate lighting thanks to a very good lighted magnified makeup mirror. Ha.

Looking into that bathroom mirror, which had lighting like this – ———>

I realized my lighting to date has been totally inadequate.

I could immediately see skin and makeup issues I’d never noticed, and was confronted with alarming questions about my color choices and blending abilities.

Like I said, it was a tad bit shocking.

I live in an old house that has an aged bathroom with a pedestal sink and terrible lighting, so I have my makeup setup in the bedroom. It looks like this:

Brushes in a zaru soba tsuyu cup, small items in an incense burner, both from Japan! 🙂

I have a policy: everything I use has to fit in this space-so if I add something, something has to go

I’m not about to redo my bedroom lighting, so I went to the trusty internet to see if solutions exist.

And lo, there are solutions! So. Many. Solutions! And they are cheap!

I considered this set of stick-on bulbs ($22.99):

And this stick-on light bar ($12.99):

But ultimately I went with this stick-on strip of continuous tiny lights ($14.99):

I liked the way it provides a continual line of lighting on all sides. It’s also completely adjustable from dim to bright light. And it’s a breeze to install–just peel off the tape and stick it up. And you can trim it to size.

Unlit, it is not attractive–it’s completely an industrial item never meant to be part of anyone’s decor. —->

Some might object for this reason. But I don’t mind. The strip is small and unobtrusive, so not very noticeable, and when it’s lit–well, it’s quite amazing. As evidence, I provide these photos:

Just my overhead light

With only my lighted makeup mirror hitting one side of face

With new lights at half-power

With the new lights at full power

As you can see, it’s consistent full-circle lighting, that fills even the darkest space evenly, and can be adjusted to the light-level of your destination.

So: If you care about makeup, drop what you’re doing and get yourself one of these lighting options. They won’t break the bank, and believe me, your makeup experience will never be the same.

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I’m still de-stashing, so let’s continue the weekly giveaway! Last week only ONE person did the thing I asked, which was to tag someone in an FB comment: Charlotte Noble, a Ph.D. student at USF (shared with permission). So, Charlotte is the default winner of this week’s makeup sample set!

I can see that you all love to comment, but still don’t love to post selfies or tag your friends…. So, for this week, let’s go back to the original rules: comment on the FB thread with some substantive comment about makeup or skin care – what you use, why you use it, what you think of my post, comments about makeup and feminism, makeup and politics, makeup and race, makeup and LGBTQ identity (it’s Pride Month!), anything at all (but no makeup shaming!) – and I’ll randomly choose someone (using random.org) from among the commenters to get a box of my unused or barely used sample items. Brands include Urban Decay, Smashbox, Tarte, and so on…

But, new tweak: if you DO post a selfie or tag a friend, you get counted double! I want to see selfies!!

About Karen Kelsky

I am a former tenured professor at two institutions--University of Oregon and University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I have trained numerous Ph.D. students, now gainfully employed in academia, and handled a number of successful tenure cases as Department Head. I've created this business, The Professor Is In, to guide graduate students and junior faculty through grad school, the job search, and tenure. I am the advisor they should already have, but probably don't.